Travis County Adopts Updated Flood Plain Standards

A study showing that more intense rainfall is exacerbating flooding in Central Texas prompted Travis County commissioners to adopt updated flood plain standards for land development. The study, called Atlas 14, was conducted by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, and indicated that higher flooding is possible for Central Texas.

As it will take years for the Federal Emergency Management Agency to update its flood insurance rate maps, county commissioners opted to adopt higher standards that reflect the Atlas 14 data. Adopting the standards will increase costs for developers, landowners and the county.

“It is more cost-effective . . . to build the infrastructure based on the Atlas 14 data, than to retrofit it later, or in response to an event,” wrote Stacy Scheffel, the county’s flood plain administrator, in a summary of Atlas 14.

For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Amy Sorter